As we begin the 2021-2022 school year, reflecting on the past and present is of the utmost importance. Over the summer, we have witnessed the ushering in of new leadership at the administrative level, the unpredictability of COVID-19 and its new variants, and, most importantly, a change in tradition for our publication.

The Tower has long held a reputation as the oldest weekly newspaper in the country, a beacon of quality journalism that investigates not only news at South, but critical issues in our community that deserve our utmost attention. We pride ourselves on the depth of our coverage, and because of that, we decided it was time to take a new direction. This issue marks the first of our biweekly newsmagazines that will take the place of our traditional broadsheet. Additionally, major updates to our website and social media are coming soon.

This decision was a difficult, but necessary one to make. We are hopeful that a biweekly format will provide our staff with more time to publish quality content. It will also allow us to increase the amount of photography and art in the paper, making information as accessible as possible.

Heading into the school year, we know that the most certain thing is that our lives remain uncertain. There is hope to be had in the headlines, but the pandemic, as well as disasters both domestic and abroad, continue to impact us every day. The role of journalism in our society continues to evolve, but one thing is for certain: it is increasingly necessary to inform with integrity. We at The Tower are fully aware of this responsibility, and it is a duty we do not take lightly.

Era-defining challenges bear down on our community, our state, and our nation in this school year. We at The Tower know reporting is our way of building credibility through transparency and dealing with the direst challenges of our time. History and circumstance may have placed us at this moment of reckoning, but we trust we can meet that moment, if only because we must.